Abstract:
Dental instruments and devices require sterilization or high-level
disinfection. An evaluation of the implementation of such processes
was undertaken. Eleven thousand questionnaires on methods used to
sterilize and disinfect dental instruments were sent to dental
practices and 1391 (13%) were returned for evaluation. Sixty-eight
percent of respondents believed they were sterilizing their
instruments, however, some of the liquid chemical products used
were not suitable for sterilizing instruments, and 12% of
respondents used incorrect contact times. Forty-nine percent of
respondents did not challenge autoclaves with biological spores to
check their function at an acceptable frequency. There were similar
product and timing problems when a high-level liquid chemical
disinfection was attempted. Although the return sample was small,
problems were identified that can and should be corrected. This
study demonstrates that the potential for person-to-person
transmission of infectious agents such as the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B and C viruses via
inadequately sterilized dental instrument exists depending on the
prevalence of HIV in the dental practice area.